Thermal alarm



C. ROHULICH June 1 6, 1959 THERMAL ALARM Filed oct. .28. 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Char/es Rahul/'ch C. ROHULICH THERMAL ALARM June 16, 1959 Filed oct. 28. 1954 cz.v ROHULICH THERMAL ALARM June 16, 1959 Filed oct. 28, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1V/Charles y Rahul/bh JNVENToR.

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Altarntjs C. ROHULICH THERMAL ALARM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 061;. 28. 1954 INVENTDR.

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United States Patent (Milice THERMAL ALARM Charles Rohulich, Scranton, Pa.

Application October 28, 1954, Serial No. 465,185

1 Claim. (Cl. 340-227) This invention relates generally to electrical signalling apparatus and more particularly to a novel thermal alarm signal system. y t

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision of means for automatically actuating an alarm when a predetermined abnormal temperature is reached and which employs mercury actuation devices.

l A furtherl object of the invention resides in the provision of a device which is self-supervising and which employs means for transferring the system to proper operation by an auxiliary power supply should the main power supply fail. v

' Another feature of the invention resides in the provi sion of a highly advantageous manual actuation device which is highly eilcient in operation and easy to reset while employing the glass which is to be broken for actuating the manual actuation device to hold the contact making parts separated.

Still another feature of the invention resides in the means provided for maintaining the thermal alarm signal system in operation even though the system is tampered with.

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of a thermal alarm signalling system that is simple in `its circuits, capable of being used on various types of buildings and like structures, and whichemploys a novel location panel for indicating precisely where the abnormal heat is or where a device has been tampered with." l A jTheSe,` together withthe variousancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are `attained by this thermal alarm signal system, a preferred arrangement of parts being shown in the accompanying drawings, by way offexample only, wherein; i

` `Figure l is the` mainwiring diagram of thethermal alarm `signal system comprising the present inventiom" Figure `2 is a wiring diagram illustratingthe manner in which manual actuating units can be associated with the `thermal alarm signal system and Whichis especially applicable to public building installation;

Figure 3 is` a perspective view of one of the manual Figure 10 is a sectional detail view of the mercury tube forrnmg the main structure of an automatic actuating unit;

p Figure l1 is a sectional detail view illustrating the construction of the indicator panel; and

Figure l2 is an elevational View of a portion of the indicator panel as looking along the plane of line 12-12 of Figure l1. I With continuing reference to the accompanying drawlngs where like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various Views and with particular attention initially to Figures l and l0 it will be noted that hereinreference numeral is used to generally indicate each of the automatic thermal actuating units in which there are positioned ve contacts 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30. These l contacts extend into the tube shown in Figure Vl0 and are adapted to be successively contacted by the mercury during the expansion of the mercury. Contacts 22 and y24 are placed close enough together to maintain a closed circuit yet far enough apart so that they do not make contact` with one another directly in such position that both of the contacts 22 and 24 are in contact with the mercury within the tube at all times allowing current to pass from contact 22 to contact 24 when the unit is in normal functioning status and not broken or tampered with. This alords a ,I novel means of providing electrical supervision of the l. the automatic actuating units 20 or when a particular automatic actuating unit 20 is broken by tampering.

Connected to each of the contacts 26 is.` a conductor 38 which forms a loop complete operative electrical circuits to supply the automatic actuating units 20 in case there is a break by deliberate cutting of this Wire at any point in the loop. i

actuation units comprising important elements of the invention; g y y Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View as taken along the plane of line 4--4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional detail View as taken along the plane of line 5 5 of Figure 4;

\ Figure 6 is another sectional detail view of the manual actuation unit as` taken along the plane of line 6-6 in Figure 4;

Figure 7is a partial sectional view as taken along the i plane of line 7--7 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the arrangement of prongreceiving receptacles forming one of the elements of the Figure`^9 is a sectional detail view as taken along the plane of line`9-9 of Figure S; u l i Contacts 28 are provided to carry current through the conductors 40, 42, etc. to the location panel generally designated by reference numeral 44 on which will be designated which actuating unit 20 is being utilized. The locator panel 44 may be positioned in any suitable location within a home or building such as the master bedroom of the home or the superintendents oice of a large publicbuilding. Hence, should there be a lire, the location of the tire will be shown on the location panel 44.

Contacts 30 are the signalling contacts. These contacts 30 `actuate the mechanism which sets off the re alarm signal. Connected to each of the contacts 30 is a loop conductor 46 which provides a definite circuit should there be a break or cut in this line.

Current is supplied to the thermal alarm signal system through fuses as at 48 and thence through transformer 50 and then through a rectifier 52 where the alternating current applied is rectified. The current then passes through all of the actuating units and through contacts 22 and 24 thereof by means of conductor 54 as a series circuit and returns to the supervisor relay 34 to actuate the supervisor relay 34. The supervisor relay 34 under normal conditions is energized. Any break in the conductor 54 will release the relay 34 and energize the trouble signal 32 while also bringing into use the auxiliary power supply of the batteries 36.

There is provided a lock relay 56 having locking contacts, not shown, which is energized only when the mer- Patented June 16, 1959` the current continues to actuate the alarm until the lock relay'56' is` manually' released and the actuating devices are in normal position.

A charger 58, is provided so as to keepY the batteries 36 constantly charged to' insure that the auxiliary power supply"willfunction asi needed.

An outdoor iire signal 6.0 is provided` which is placed on the outside of a building to sound an' alarm. The purpose of the alarm `60 is to call the attention of any person or persons' passing by that there is a' re in the house or building and that they should thus tu'rn in an alarm to summon the re department to put the iire out. In cooperation with the alarm 60 there is a light 62 'which may be placed in the sameY box with the alarm 60 and which may have positioned in front` of 'the lamp 62 a piece of glass with the word fire printed thereon. When the alarm is sounded atvnight, for example, the person who hears the sound would see the word fire illuminated and turn in an alarm to the lire department. This feature is highly advantageous when the occupants of the building are not at the building and the alarm is set oiff Reference numeral 64 generally designates a switch associated with each of the automatic actuating units 20 for designating which of the actuating units have been removedl from circuit. This switch 64 works in conjunctionwith the' female tube socket 66 provided for receiving the prong leads which are connected to each of the contacts 22,24, 26, 28 and 30 of each of the actuation units 2 0. Each of these prong receiving receptacles 68 is adapted` to receiveprongs therein. However, associated with one of the receptacles 66 is a spring contact 64 whichy is adapted tol engage a contact maker 72 associated with a differentl one of the prong receptacles. The spring contact- 64 is adapted to be pushed out of engagement with the contact 72 by means of an insulated plug 74 attached to one of the prongs. When the prongs are removed from the prong receptacles 68, the spring switch member 64 will be actuated. The switch when actuated completes an operative electrical circuit to the associated lamp 86 in a manner which will be hereinafter made apparent.

There isv provided an indoor alarm 76, see Figure l, which is located. on the location panel 44 and which will operate simultaneously with the outdoor alarm 60. A trouble signal lamp 78 is also provided von the location panel`44.

Ther location panel 44 can be seen best in Figures l, 1.1 and l2, and is` so arranged that there are 'a series` of pairs of contacts 80 and` 82 actuated by solenoids84when the solenoids 84 are energized through conductors 40, 4 2fetc. The contacts 82l are provided to maintain a current andto keep the lamps 86 actuated until the mechanism is reset by hand. When a fire gets so hot that it will burst a thermal actuating unit 20, the current which would have owed through the contacts 28 thereof to the location panel through the wires 40, 42vetc. will be cut o ff. Therefore, 'a direct connecting wire is provided to the` switch contacts 80 which in turn supplies current to the switch contacts 22 to thus keep the lamps 86 venergized. Therefore, the switch 82 turns the lamps 86 on andkeeps the lampsenergized until the mechanism is reset byhand.

Reference numeral y88 generally designates one of the switches which are normally closed but open when one or more of the solenoid coils l84 are energized. These switches 88 remain closed until theswitches 80 and 82 close as previously described. Then, the switches 88 open thereby deenergizing the coils 84. The contacts 80 and 82 remain closed after the solenoid 841is`deenergizeduntil reset. Th'e operation of the actuation elements` ofv the location panel can be understood best from an inspection of Figures 11 and 12. The location panel 444 is made of a suitablernaterial and` pairs` `of guides 92 and 94 are mounted on therpanel 44, Disks 96 are slidably mounted within the guides 92 and. 94. and are made of a material easilyvisiblehaving an .aperture as at 98 therethrough.

. to the'jvarious contacts 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 of the auto! There are provided in the panel 44 apertures 100 through which the lamp 86 can shine. When the coil 84 is energized, the armature 102 which carries the contacts 80,

82 and 88 will release the disk 94 which then falls by i gravity in front of the aperture and is illuminated by the light from the lamp `86. At the same time, the armature 102 actuates the contacts 80, 82 and 88 thus closing the circuits of the contacts 80 'and 82 and opening the circuit of the contact 88,.

In Figure 2 there is shown a diagram of the manner in which manual actuating unitsprnay be incorporated as necessary and connected to the automatic actuating units so that they may utilize the same mechanisms as the automatic units utilize. They are wired directly to the automatic units 20 as shown with the manual contacts connected to the corresponding automatic contacts. Reference numeral 106 generally designates each of the manual actuating units in which a cross bar 108 which is a good conductor is providedand which acts as a switch to complete the circuit and the actuation of the alarm when the manual unit is actuated. The cross bar 108 is adapted to vengage contacts interconnected through a series of conductors 110 matic actuating unit 20.

Referring more particularly to Figures 3 through 7, it will be noted that each of the manual actuating units 17.0 6iifs shown in detail. The manual actuating unit 106' consists 'of acasing 11.2 of an approved fire-resistant material' Hingedly secured to the casing 112 is-'adoor 114 provided with a lock 116 and an opening 117 therethrough. Mounted within the casing 112 are a pair of steel bars 118 on which the cross bar 108` is mounted for icall sliding movement. Compression springs 122 are p, ed on the vertical bars 118 and washers 124 are prov ded for' assuring equal pressureof the 'compression springs 122 on the cross bar 108. Spring'type contact members 126 are positioned in the casing 112 and are adapted to engage the contact 128 carried by the cross bar 108 when the cross bar 108 is forced down by the springs 122.

The door 114 overlies the front piece 130 of the casing 112 which is provided with a slot 132 to permit vertical movement of the cross bar 108 and associated contact 128. Further, the front piece 130 has two protrusions 134thereon as well as two brackets 136 in which a pane of glass of trapezoidal shape and designated by reference numeral 138 ismounted. TheA front piece is hingedfas at 14,0 'sothat the manual actuating element 106v can be resetl The Contact 128 of the crossV bar 108 is notched slightly and seats on theglass 138 and thus is prevented from engaging the contact 126 until the glass138 has been broken.

The manual actuating device 1,06 functions when the glass 138is broken allowing the bar 108 to be forced down by ythe springs 122 to contact the contacts 126 thereby sounding the alarm. To reset the mechanism, the door 114 is unlocked and the cross bar 108 as well as the contact 128v are pushed up manually and held with a tool (not shown), andthen the front piece is closed and the glass 138 is replaced. The glass 138 lies against the protrusions 134 lwhich help keep the glass at evenly spaced distance away from the front piece. This hollow space behind the glass renders it very easy to break. Further, the contact bar 128` isgprovided with a slight groove .as at 142 'just where the glass touches it to help hold the glass iirmly in position. The door is then closed and locked and the unit is ready for use again. The glass 37 is designed in a trapezoidal shape to insure suflicient breakageto provide contact, between the contact b ar 128 and the contacts 126. 'j

From theY foregoing, Vthe construction andl operation of the Ydevice will. be readily understood` and further explanation is Vbelieved to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit'the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

In a thermal alarm system, the combination of a set of automatic actuation devices each including a mercury filled tube and a plurality of contacts therein for completing electrical circuits, two of the contacts in each actuation device tube being normally electrically bridged by the mercury in the tube, a relay, a main current source, a normally closed primary circuit connecting said relay in series with said two contacts of each of said actuation devices to said main current source whereby the relay is normally energized, an auxiliary current source, a normally open secondary circuit connecting said relay in series with said two contacts of each of said actuation devices to said auxiliary current source, said secondary circuit being closed by said relay upon failure of said primary circuit to maintain the relay energized, a locator panel including a set of locator devices, a locator circuit connecting the respective locator devices in series with another of the contacts of the respective actuation devices to said relay for selective actuation by said primary and secondary circuits, and alarm means in circuit with another of the contacts of the actuation devices and with said relay.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,138,688 Reid May 11, 1915 1,927,744 Jones Sept. 19, 1933 2,314,584 Kritz Mar. 23, 1943 2,433,080 Willett Dec. 23, 1947 2,492,043 Holmes Dec. 20, 1949 2,545,854 Levy Mar. 20, 1951 2,605,342 Spurling July 29, 1952 2,629,797 Hardy Feb. 24, 1953 20 2,632,070 Verkul Mar. 17, 1953 

